Editorial Reviews

Review

"Alvin Ziegler's GRIDLOCK is just what the Dr. ordered for any reader looking for a fast-paced thriller that features hard science and up-to-the-minute medical research. Give this a read! You won't be sorry." --Seth Harwood, Author of JACK WAKES UP

"The gene-based medicine in GRIDLOCK is real and happening now. This tectonic shift in healthcare redefines how we predict and treat human disease." --Sunil Maulik, P.hD., GeneEd Co-Founder

"GRIDLOCK: A Scientific Thriller is a very stimulating and electrifying novel. I love how it ended and wouldn't change a thing about it even if I could. Recommended to everyone who wants to read action thrillers and is interested in new breakthroughs in the medical field. Five Stars." --READER'S FAVORITE BOOK REVIEWS

"Do not be put off by the scientific/medical leanings of this book. It is a superb Action thriller. Great characters and a great plot that happens to use modern science as it's base story. I can't recommend this highly enough. Five stars." --AMAZON BOOKS U.K. REVIEWER, N.C. Roff

"This is a book that you want to finish in one sitting. Genetics and modern medical science well portrayed. Very good. Well constructed." --GOODREADS REVIEWER

About the Author

While updating computer networks in Beth Israel Medical Center, Alvin saw firsthand how biology and computers were converging. A revolution had begun, but few knew about it. Petri dishes and microscopes were being replaced with databases and computer workstations.It was the start of personalized medicine...the decoding of the human genome.

The advancement came like a tidal wave. The digital revolution had finally wound its way home...to our bodies. The Internet age, which had disrupted the newspaper, music, book, and movie industries, would now extend our lives.

Landing in Fort Lauderdale, Alvin's curiosity was piqued. Customized drugs were replacing one-size-fits-all prescriptions. Scientists were unlocking the secrets of DNA to find our susceptibilities to disease so precision treatment could become routine. The more he dug, the more hooked he became. Turns out diseases like cancer are as individual as a fingerprint. But such radical modernization would not come without push back. Careers and fortunes depend on old healthcare practices. How far would detractors go to halt progress? That's what GRIDLOCK explores.

Becoming a bit obsessive with research, he interviewed genomics companies such as Celera, which decoded the human genome at a fraction of the cost of the U.S. government, Illumina, which makes genomic medical devices, the San Francisco FBI and super computing professionals. Ultimately, GRIDLOCK came together as a plot-driven thriller, building to an unexpected and furious face off.

What a corker of a novel. Fast paced, terrific dialogue, good description of events and places, this book keeps you hooked. Alvin Ziegler has crafted a superior novel of stunning originality and superb real life possibilities. This one’s a definite page turner with all the attributes of a prequel. “Gridlock” has very realistic scenarios, and begs to be made for a TV series.

I really thought I'd like this book. It's the kind of techno thriller I usually enjoy and although it was only a few reviews they were all good. I made it to about 20% but decided I was bored and there didn't seen to be any effort yet to tie all the loose threads together. Wagner who I assume was going to be the main character because he was still alive at that point was really bland and lacking in personality. I also assume Nathalie was going to be the other main character but I wasn't impressed with her and kept questioning why a French Canadian (that point was made several times) was an FBI agent.It could just be my mood but...

I bought this book based on the excellent reviews it received here on Amazon. Wow, was I lead in the wrong direction.

The characters in this book stay unbelievably flat. There motivations are never clear and they just act in a very unbelievable way. E.g. after some of the friends of the main character die he just keeps on going with literally no reflection or mourning.The story itself is unfortunately everything but logical. There are so many logical flaws that I stopped counting. Why is Stanford working with CERN apart from being able to spend ten pages in Switzerland? CERN pops up in the beginning and then never plays a role again in the rest of the book. There are so many more, which I don't want to reiterate as I do not want to spoiler you - in total it really takes the fun out of reading this book.

Last but not least this book is terribly edited. There are plenty of typos, grammatical errors, etc.

If you want a high quality techno thriller, go on looking somewhere else, but don't waste your time with this book.

The Amazon summary provides enough that I don't need to rehash the story here. But let's just get to the point! Boring! I read the entire book, but there's just too many tangent stories that have ABSOLUTELY nothing to do with the main story. I realize a lot of writers are taught to have good character development, but sometimes too much is a bad thing. This story was only slightly exciting without the "development" stories. With these stories, it was just plain boring.

The author does show promise though; in fact, the antagonist was a very strong character and if the author can write a different story with a character as exciting as this, then I would read his next book.

The author’s publisher, Loma Vista Press, gave me a copy of this novel in exchange for my review.

Medical thrillers aren’t exactly my wheelhouse. An overload of scientific principles in a recipe for boredom, which is why “Gridlock” was the perfect medical thriller for this reader. Ziegler, who has a strong background in medicine and computer science, gives the reader all of the facts to be convincing but not so inscrutably as to weigh the story down.

“Gridlock” is Ziegler’s first novel and shows the signs of an author with talent looking to tackle what is perhaps a timely subject. At the start of the novel the ill-fated Dr. Hideo Onagi presents the idea to people who might donate to its success he tells them that customized health care will be more expensive but also more effective. Social commentary, poplar or not, sets the stage for this impressively knowledgeable work.

Ziegler’s work features a number of somewhat generic characters. Even the assumed main character, Jude Wagner, seems to lack a unique voice. He’s a somewhat generic lead. What we lack in development, Ziegler makes up for in pacing. Ziegler’s writing style leaves the reader barrelling from big idea to bigger idea crashing into the knowledge nuggets laced through the narrative.

If you like medical thrillers and have a strong interest in current affairs, give this novel a shot. Keep your eyes open for Ziegler’s next novel as this author has the talent and is sure to develop the focus.

GRIDLOCK is a fast-paced, expertly modulated mystery thriller, full-speed ahead when it should be, relenting at the right moments. The story is told with a smaht and suave style. Alvin Ziegler knows how to turn a phrase and strikes bright notes with just the right words. Looking for le mot juste? You'll find it here. (Sorry! I was an English major--thank you Stanford and Berkeley--French minor, too). Pages light up with plentiful touches of local color. San Francisco's Russian Hill, skyline of Tokyo, Lake Geneva's shores, they're all here to add to the thrills. Characterization is revealed in clever, unexpected ways. In short, the book is a winner!

More About the Author

While updating computer networks in Beth Israel Medical Center, Alvin saw firsthand how biology and computers were converging. A revolution had begun, but few knew about it. Petri dishes and microscopes were being replaced with databases and computer workstations.

It was the start of personalized medicine...the decoding of the human genome.

The advancement came like a tidal wave. The digital revolution had finally wound its way home...to our bodies. The Internet age, which had disrupted the newspaper, music, book, and movie industries, would now extend our lives. Landing in Fort Lauderdale, Alvin's curiosity was piqued.

Customized drugs were replacing one-size-fits-all prescriptions. Scientists were unlocking the secrets of DNA to find our susceptibilities to disease so precision treatment could become routine. The more he dug, the more hooked he became. Turns out diseases like cancer are as individual as a fingerprint.

But such radical modernization would not come without push back. Careers and fortunes depend on old healthcare practices. How far would detractors go to halt progress? That's what GRIDLOCK explores.

Becoming a bit obsessive with research, he interviewed genomics companies such as Celera, which decoded the human genome at a fraction of the cost of the U.S. government, Illumina, which makes genomic medical devices, the San Francisco FBI and super computing professionals. Ultimately, GRIDLOCK came together as a plot-driven thriller, building to an unexpected and furious face off.